8 - Gateway
by kaahiescheck
Summary: Based on The House of Hades cover, with a bit of Percabeth fluff. "We were struggling to avoid the lava. Coming from the rocks on both sides, waterfalls – or would it be lavafalls? – met the fire river and it was becoming wider. As I looked ahead and tried to locate a safe path, something really big and scary growled loudly behind us. And I made the mistake of looking back at it."


**I _know _the Doors of Death aren't exactly a "gateway", but I couldn't help it. It was the first thing that popped up in my mind.**

**It was completely inspired by The House Of Hades cover ( - version without anything written on it). I made it so the very last paragraph is the drawing.  
**

**And I must say I had quite some time to try to understand that cover correctly. I mean, what's up with the white-ish thingy at their feet? At first I thought it was water, but I zoomed in like a hundred times and it looked more gaseous. And I'd always imagined Percy was looking at Annabeth, but looking carefully (and zooming in a lot) I noticed he's actually looking at _us _or whatever. It's kind of disturbing if you stare at it for a while.**

**But I'll stop rambling now. Can't wait for that book, dear gods.**

* * *

I would say I was tired and ready to drop, but that doesn't seem to describe my situation very accurately. So multiply that by infinite. There. Do you find that painful? It wasn't close enough.

I can't tell how much time Annabeth and I were in Tartarus either. We slept whenever we were about to pass out and woke up when it seemed appropriate; meaning, when we could open our eyes again and keep them open. It was hard to be strong and go on. All I wanted to do was let Annabeth sleep – her ankle wouldn't heal and she was very weak.

It was likely that I looked terrible as well, but at least I could walk properly.

Annabeth tended to refuse most of my help, claiming that she could handle the pain and that I needed my strength. We had spotted a lava river and decided that our best way out would be to follow it down, which we were trying to do. Only Annabeth would trip every five steps, causing me to turn to her with an _I told you so_ face.

"I'm _fine_, Percy," she said through her teeth. I could tell she was struggling to stand and look okay.

"Hm-mm, of course you are."

Annabeth glared at me, but its effect was severely affected by the pain expression she couldn't help but doing. She bit her lip and tried to take a step forward, only to twitch her foot and almost fall on me. She took a deep, shaky breath.

"Let me carry you," I said worriedly.

"No!" Annabeth insisted, trying to get on her feet without leaning on me. She hissed in pain and held my shoulder again, closing her eyes tightly. "You can't wear yourself out," her voice came out in a whisper. "I-I can do this, just –"

"No, you can't." I reached behind her back and stooped a bit, lacing an arm behind her knees, careful not to slice her with Riptide. "I'm carrying you." Annabeth tried to complain and hit me when I lifted her up, but it was ineffective. Now, I won't say I was totally up for it or that carrying her would be easy; I was exhausted and could barely drag myself forward. I just couldn't watch her suffer anymore.

Annabeth regained a bit of her strength and hit my shoulder a bit harder, which almost made me lose my balance. I tried to hide it, but she noticed. "Percy," she said dangerously slowly, "put me down."

I ignored her and kept going.

"I mean it," she went on. "If you don't put me down this instant…"

"What?" I stopped to look at her. "You're gonna jump? You can barely walk, Annabeth, and I… I can't see you in that kind of pain, okay? Your ankle hasn't healed. Let me do this."

"I said _no_, Seaweed Brain," and she did jump from my arms, only to land on her bad foot and let out a suffocated scream. I grabbed her before she could fall and opened my mouth, ready to argue, but she placed a finger on my lips. "No, Percy, I don't wanna hear it. Let's just get out of here."

Annabeth untangled herself from my grip and started walking, very slowly and limping, trying hard not to yelp in agony. I took a deep breath to steady myself, because I still wanted to carry her. How could she insist on being fine when she could barely take three steps on her own?

Aaaand she tripped again.

I didn't dare sweep her off her feet this time. Even if I didn't like it, there was no arguing with Annabeth; I appreciated staying alive, thank you very much. I simply snaked an arm around her waist and threw one of her arms over my shoulder so I could support part of her weight for her. She looked up at me with teary, bloodshot eyes, and it broke my heart.

"It'll be okay," I tried to reassure her, but I know I wasn't tricking anyone. In spite of everything, she opened a little smile, "As long as we're together."

I would have cupped her cheek with my free hand, but I was still holding Riptide and I wouldn't dare bring it close to her face, so I just leaned in and pressed my lips against hers. I was tempted to stay like that forever, kissing her tears away. Unfortunately, we didn't have time.

I gave her one last peck before looking forward and starting to walk again. I didn't take two steps before stopping. "Annabeth," I said hastily. "Is that…?" She raised her eyes and saw what I meant. There was light right in front of us, far away, and it wasn't coming from the river – it shined in shades of white instead of only red.

"The Doors of Death?" Annabeth asked. I looked at her and managed a smile. She returned it and looked back forward. "The gateway to the House of Hades. Do you think the others are there yet?"

"I just wanna get you out of here. Then we'll talk."

I didn't give her a chance to answer and tell me the importance of the quest and blah blah blah. I honestly wanted to just leave that place forever. Looking at our feet, I could see a faint white mist beginning to envelop our legs, and it couldn't be good news. The growls of the reforming monsters grew stronger. I tightened my grip around Annabeth and walked faster.

It looked as though we were never getting closer to it. Maybe we were too tired and moved too slowly, but it was frustrating, being so close and yet so far. The fact that we were almost there somehow made me feel more exhausted than ever.

The white mist began to trouble us when it started pulling at our feet like it was trying to draw us back in and keep us from escaping. I could feel it going up my calf and intertwining itself around my ankle. Instinctively, I glanced at Annabeth, worrying that the extra pulling might be too much for her injury. She was still trying to look okay.

As we got closer, I could see the Doors better. They were huge and black, with gray details, and were held by three chains on each side as if they could fall at any time. The dark, tall rocks that led to it gave me a claustrophobic feeling.

Suddenly, I heard the flip of wings and turned to the sound, raising my sword. I couldn't quite figure out the outline of the monsters, only that they were skeletal, with long limbs, wings and tails. Luckily, they paid us no attention and flew towards the Doors. There were about seven of them. I turned to Annabeth again, "What are those?"

"I don't wanna know."

So we kept going. The psychological effect of Tartarus grew stronger, threatening to drive me insane so I wouldn't leave. I had to fight to keep the horrible images off my mind, but it was harder and harder at every step we took. I brought Annabeth even closer.

We were struggling to avoid the lava. Coming from the rocks on both sides, waterfalls – or would it be lavafalls? – met the fire river and it was becoming wider. As I looked ahead and tried to locate a safe path, something really big and scary growled loudly behind us. And I made the mistake of looking back at it.


End file.
